This invention relates to a process and apparatus for producing an inorganic compound and more specifically to a process and apparatus for producing chloramine.
Unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine is known to be a useful material for rocket fuel and agricultural purposes. One possible way of forming unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine is to react chloramine with dimethyl amine. Thus, it appears that chloramine is a useful intermediate for forming unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine which in turn is a highly desirable product.
One of the most efficient processes for forming chloramine is the reaction of chlorine gas with ammonia. This is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,409 to Sisler et al and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,164 to Grushkin et al herein incorporated by reference. The chlorine/ammonia reaction is especially effective if it is carried out by introducing gaseous chlorine into a large excess of gaseous ammonia, immediately mixing the reactants and withdrawing them from the reaction zone so that there is little opportunity for the chloramine to come in contact with unreacted chlorine. Although a highly desirable reaction, there are many problems encountered when gaseous chlorine and gaseous ammonia are combined. One such problem is the creation of the undesirable by-product ammonium chloride. To prevent or minimize this formation of the ammonium chloride, the reaction must take place at a temperature above the vaporization temperature of ammonium chloride which is about 650.degree. F. (343.degree. C.). A second problem encountered by this reaction is recovering the product while concurrently preventing the ammonium chloride from plugging the apparatus and thereby fostering further decomposition of chloramine. This product recovery can be accomplished by keeping the products away from the hardware in the discharge zone and rapidly reducing product temperature.
Although the gaseous chlorine/ammonia reaction has been made to work in the laboratory for limited periods of time, the aforementioned problems, as well as other problems associated with scaleup have prevented the preparation of chloramine in an economical full scale operation.